Shuttered Huntsville school may house non-profit supply shop for teachers

West Huntsville Elementary, pictured, was closed in May 2009. Free 2 Teach, a venture of The Schools Foundation, may use the school to house a free school supply store for area teachers. (The Huntsville Times)

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- West Huntsville Elementary might soon see some new life.

The school, which was closed in May 2009, may become the home for Free 2 Teach, a venture of the nonprofit The Schools Foundation that aims to help teachers stock their supply cabinets. Foundation board members Eula Battle, Nancy Jones and Walker McGinnis launched the effort in January.

The program's mission is to support public education by supplying teachers with donations from the community. In essence, it would give teachers in the Huntsville, Madison and Madison County systems a place to shop for much-needed supplies at no cost.

Jones said she first got the idea on a trip to Disney World with her grandchildren, when she got the chance to visit a store run by a similar program, A Gift for Teaching. The Florida program runs three stores in Orlando, Kissimmee and Sanford.

The Huntsville store would always be stocked with seven core items, including pens, No. 2 pencils, crayons, markers, glue sticks, loose leaf paper and copier paper, said Jones and Battle. Other items like construction paper, books and backpacks will be available as they are donated.

Donated items have already started rolling in.

Cash donations are also a great need, Jones said. The program, which will be run solely by volunteers, is expected to cost about $63,000 per year.

Before the economy crashed, the state education budget gave local teachers money to buy supplies for their classrooms, from pencils to computers. The state has eliminated that money for the past several years.

"Unless you've got an active PTA, generous parents or someone willing to open their checkbooks, you do without," Jones said.

The three districts in Madison County have about 3,500 teachers in 84 public schools, serving more than 50,000 children.

All three systems have signed on to participate with the program. Dr. Casey Wardynski, Huntsville's new superintendent, has offered to lease the program about 23 percent of West Huntsville's building, including the cafetorium, the main office, the library and a classroom.

The cost of the lease would be $1 per year for two years.

"The next step is for the board to come up with a lease agreement," said McGinnis, a retired principal and former school board candidate.

The school board is expected to vote on the proposal later this month. Pending approval, the lease would begin about Oct. 1.

The store is anticipated to open on Jan. 10.

If the board approves the plan, volunteers will begin cleaning up and furnishing the areas to be used. The Huntsville school system will handle security for the building.

The Schools Foundation will run the program and pay for the utilities used by the program, estimated at just over $800 a month.

The Madison and Madison County systems will handle the transport of supplies.

Wardynski last week called the program a "win-win-win" for the three school districts. Board members also gave it a thumbs-up during their monthly work session.

"This is great, fantastic," school board member David Blair said. "This is also one of those things we always talk about, cooperation between the three systems. The Schools Foundation has obviously been a huge influence in the community, and we really appreciate that."

Battle, wife of Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, said she has been storing donations in her garage. She said it was wonderful to see the program on the verge of fruition.

"It's really exciting, but a little scary, taking on such a large venture," Battle said.